creative jewish mom

Simple Two-stroke Painted Butterfly Is Perfect Right Now!

After posting about the origami butterflies I've started making for this year's Purim decorations, I realized that indeed, some painted butterflies, maybe with 4 wings this year, must fly into the picture as well, so as my stack of origami butterflies in all sizes is growing, I've pulled this out of the archives to remind myself and to give you a little something to paint! Enjoy! Here is what I wrote last year:

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

DIY Counting The Omer Art Journal

With all the preparations for Passover, it is generally quite difficult to think about counting the Omer art projects ahead of time, but this year I actually succeeded in making a DIY art journal for daily creating according to the Omer, ahead of time! I'll admit, it was really quite a fluke, and happened 3 weeks before Passover, when there was still room for creative activities. And let me tell you, I couldn't be more pleased with the results, and the fact that, just as soon as Passover ends I have the energy after Passover ends, I'll be ready to go! Hoping the energy returns soon, as we are already on Day 10 of 49, so time is of the essence! What will I be creating on these pages? Well it is true that there are already many accidental abstract landscapes waiting to be realized, so that may be the direction, but I will decide when the time comes, which means hopefully tomorrow? Lets take a closer look, shall we?

Simple 2 Stroke Painted Butterfly

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

Counting The Omer Art Journal

I am reposting this from last year, as truly now is a great time to start thinking about a counting the Omer Art Journal! Namely set yourself up ahead of time, so that once Passover is over, you can dive in, make up for the first week (I don't create art during the Passover holiday) and have a really meaningful counting the Omer period. I still have a few spreads to complete from the journal here, but really thinking about doing something small and manageable this year, like index card sized! Stay tuned for that, I do want to make the journal and prepare it, that is if I can find the time! And here is what I wrote last year:

Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!

There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!

So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!

Experimenting With Hi-End Water Soluble Wax Pastels

Looking for a Chanukah gift for an artsy someone? The Caran D'Ache wax pastels might just be a great gift, namely the set of 40 that comes in a gorgeous red tin. Do note however, these are amazing for working in journals and sketchbooks, but they must be sealed with fixative or they will bleed onto the opposite page. The best practice is to slip a piece of parchment or deli paper between the pages and then apply fixative at a later date. So maybe gift a can or bottle of fixative with the gift, just make sure it is fixative that works with oil based things, other wise it may just bead up on top of the work. Also, they work really well for mark making on the final layer of an acrylic painting, as the colors are very pigmented and offer great coverage.

How did all of this come about? As you may remember, this past Spring/summer I challenged myself to do 100 oil pastel landscapes, and I did it. It was great, but the oil pastels were truly such a mess and there ended up being little bits of oil pastel everywhere, even on the challahs at one point! So, while I do hope to delve into oil pastels again, I was looking for something a bit similar, but without the mess, and decided to try the Caran D'Ache Neocolor II line of waxy, water soluble, pastels. What can I say, it is a bit of a steep learning curve, but I keep seeing illustrators creating amazing things with them, and I am enjoying both the water soluble nature and the virtual no mess factor, so I'm not giving up any time soon! Ah yes, and they are literally the most perfect thing to travel with, together with a water brush and a few pencils, and some baby wipes, with which one can literally wipe off mistakes and turn a page gone wrong into the background for something new! Okay, lets take a look at some of the things I've created lately, though for the best look head on over to my instagram account @sara.rivka.dahan!

Sketchbook Drawings From Colored Pencils After The Trip!

While I did take this sketchbook with me my on our recent trip to the USA, I was right in thinking that I would not likely get much sketching or painting done! In fact I ran down to the beach on the last day just to do one quick watercolor so that carrying the sketchbook around would not have been pointless! If you want to include creativity beyond photography on any trip it does mean having that time to yourself, being very quick with that sketching and making it a priority, which may or may not be important to you, depending on your everyday practice? Not to worry, there is a time for everything, so when I started to go through all the photos I'd taken I decided to do some quick sketches of some of the San Francisco landmarks using a palette of blue colored pencils. Something not at all par for the course, but I enjoyed this little exercise, and now at least I've filled two spreads which relate to our trip. Hmmm, now I think I need to sketch some Victorian houses, or maybe even do some house collages? Ah yes, but the newly purchases paint is calling, so the creative adventure continues!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

Simple Hamsa Cut Out Craft

Craft projects don't always go as planned, and neither do drawings or paintings even when created by someone experienced! Before tossing something that wasn't successful in the garbage, do consider if you can reuse it or upcycle it in some way! Paintings done on canvas or paper can generally be painted over, drawings done on light weight paper can be used for origami or any number of paper crafts, and in this case, a painted umbrella and an oil pastel hamsa, both done on watercolor paper but not successful on their respective backgrounds were cut out to use in the future! The wonderful thing about creativity and a mindset of creative re-use, is that it can lead one down an unexpected path that is much more exciting than the one you started down to begin with! For starters I think I'll paint some black and white winter accessories to go with this umbrella, since rain is not a summer thing for us, and the hamsa, which is really a chamsa? Hmmm, I'll fix the oil pastel and maybe use it as a gift tag!

Sketchbook Brushstroke Daisies Are So Much Fun!

Summer is a great time to start a sketchbook, and fill it up! The more you create in a sketchbook the more you'll want to create in a sketchbook, promise! A year ago I dedicated days on end to sketchbook drawing and later painting, and it was only through that process that I learned that I can make mistakes in my sketchbook and it is okay! During that time I also learned how to cover mistakes that bother me, and today, I have progressed to even leaving unsuccessful pages as is! And friends, my sketchbook is a regular drawing sketchbook, nothing fancy and not made for painting, and yet it works just fine with acrylic paint, and even a composition notebook with lined pages can be used as a simple sketchbook. The main thing is to start a sketchbook, with whatever you have and start the journey! If you feel like painting, so you can try painted circles with flower doodles seen here, or you can try these layered brushstroke daisies, though it does take practice. Okay, lets take a closer look and think about some helpful tips!